Take the lead on lead

Steve Leigh of Groundbreaker asks housing providers, is your property’s drinking water harming your tenants? Awareness of the potential health problems caused by lead in the water supply, particularly in infants and children, is growing. Houses built before 1970 would... View Article

The capability of IoT

MRI Software explores how the Internet of Things (IoT) can improve safety in social housing. For some time, anticipation has been building for the capability of the IoT to transform social housing. The path to mainstream adoption has been slow,... View Article

Lifts in housing

Alastair Stannah of Stannah Lift Distribution & Service (UK) answers some of the most frequently asked questions around the emergency use and upgrading of lifts in the housing sector. Today, there are estimated to be more than 50,000 operational lifts... View Article

Turn down the volume

Karen Wilding of Forbo Flooring Systems explains how noise can be minimised in multi-occupancy buildings by retrofitting acoustic flooring solutions. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), excessive noise seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities. In... View Article

Tackling radon to keep residents safe

Exposure to radon gas is a real health risk. James Kane of Airtech Solutions explains how landlords and housing providers can protect residents. Since the introduction of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, landlords are more aware of... View Article

Crest Nicholson’s Godalming goals

A collection of three and four bedroom houses and one and two bedroom apartments are being launched by Crest Nicholson at its new development, Catteshall Court, in the market town of Godalming, Surrey. Once the units are complete in 2023,... View Article

A modern method of Covid recovery

John Carter of Aldermore argues why builders need to embrace modern methods of construction as a way to help the industry recover from the pandemic. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have demonstrated the importance of the need for businesses... View Article

Short supply

Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), explores how the shortage of construction materials is constraining small builders’ ability to ‘build back better.’ Since the coronavirus pandemic, many small to medium-sized (SME) construction firms have struggled to... View Article

Taking pride in inclusivity

Anchor Hanover has been chosen to deliver the UK’s first ‘extra-care’ housing scheme for LGBT+ people, in south Manchester. Charles Taylor from Anchor Hanover takes Jack Wooler through the proposals. What’s believed to be the first UK purpose-built housing scheme... View Article

The housing stats don’t stack up

Patrick Mooney, housing consultant and news editor of Housing, Management & Maintenance asks, do the Government’s numbers for how many homes with planning permission have not been built stack up? There is a strange and mysterious coincidence about housing statistics... View Article

Steeling yourself for the future

Stuart Judge of the Steel Window Association considers the performance benefits of contemporary steel frames in terms of meeting the future challenges for housebuilding. Britain can take pride in the way its big pharmaceutical companies and top research universities responded... View Article

Throwing away the toilet taboo

Good architects know only too well the importance of promoting post-occupancy health and wellbeing, particularly in education settings. Purdie Proudman of Geberit explains how it’s now high time that specifiers view school bathrooms as much more than just purely functional... View Article

Colour safe

Ian Gisbourne of Dulux Trade discusses how colour can be employed to help keep students safer in all education settings, in a post-Covid world This past year has been like no other in the education sector. Many students spent long... View Article

Innovative school design isn’t the enemy of fire safety

Keith MacGillivray of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association looks at the debate around whether automatic fire sprinklers are in conflict with innovative school design What could be more beneficial to the design of a school than the inclusion of... View Article

Learning to live with change

Rob Charlton of Space Architects discusses his practice’s ethos of delivering buildings that improve people’s lives in the context of education, and the changes the sector has undergone recently Having been in practice for almost 30 years, I have spent... View Article

School spec: covered!

Vicky Evans of Twinfix discusses how bespoke canopies and covered areas can create a style to suit each education site and location, giving specifiers the ability to offer schools something unique, but familiar Canopies and covered areas are an attractive... View Article

Ensure you make the right moves on the dance floor

The approach needed when creating a floor for a specialised use is often more ‘bespoke’ than it may seem. Steve Green of Harlequin Floors explains how dance floors differ from standard sports floors, and how correct design is critical for... View Article

Louvres make the grade

In the education sector, getting ventilation right and ensuring a healthy and comfortable environment has never been more important. Andy Moul of Construction Specialties looks at key factors which need to be taken into consideration when specifying external louvres as... View Article

The safe bet for decking

William Hogg of Ecodek discusses the options for blending safety standards and sustainability with striking design when it comes to aluminium decking The specification of non-combustible building materials in the design of high-rise buildings has never been such a prevalent... View Article

Practice Profile: Stride Treglown

Pierre Wassenaar from the top 10 UK practice speaks to Tom Boddy about how the firm’s social value ethos has sustained since its inception, and has led to it achieving a demanding business standard for inclusivity and sustainability Since its... View Article